


Capulet's Back Alley

by conartist1132



Category: One Piece
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Author is Breaking the Fourth Wall, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Comedy, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gangs/Mafia AU, Half Crack/Half Serious, M/M, Mystery, Romance, Sudden POV/Narration Shifts, Suspension of Disbelief Required
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:27:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29196057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conartist1132/pseuds/conartist1132
Summary: A very loose modern take on Romeo and Juliet story against gangs/mafia backdrop. Zoro and Sanji were members of two warring school gangs. They fell for each other and were in a secret relationship.  Drama (and intrigue) followed Zoro, Sanji and their friends anywhere they set their foot on and vice versa. A romantic dramedy with angst, mystery, fluff, and sprinkles of action.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Kudos: 13





	1. Entrance

**Author's Note:**

> i'm writing a crack fic. hope you enjoy it

_Luffy’s and Kid’s gangs had been infamously antagonistic towards each other since the inception. They’re fearful groups that were destined to be in a vicious cycle of hatred for seven generations. Every student in town knew, teachers in their respective schools held them in the highest regard. Everyone even a grandma in a convenience store was impressed by their legendary adversary._

“Shut it Usopp, you’re the one who told that grandma!” Someone in Luffy’s group objected.

Usopp continued to narrate. _They were at the moment standing on a neutral ground toe to toe against their sworn enemies. The leaders beamed lasers into each other’s eyes, everyone around them was foaming at their mouth as a result._

“WE’RE FINE!!” said everyone who was accused of foaming at the mouth.

“Well then, take it away Luffy,” Usopp cowered. He gestured his hand as if he was a host presenting the guest of honor.

“You broke the code, this means war!” Luffy said.

Let me, the real narrator, rewind it to the event that took place in a certain park 5 minutes ago.

On an overcast Friday afternoon, 17-year-old Zoro, Luffy’s 1st lieutenant, sat on a park bench, dusting dirt off his school pants, and muttered, “I think I failed the math test.”

“You failed every one of them.” Nami, the 2nd lieutenant who sits beside him stated.

“Nah, I got an A+ in P.E.”

“Yeah, like it was something to brag about.” Nami dispelled Zoro’s unworthy gloat.

“Hey, is there a reason why we’re dilly-dallying at the park in this blissful snowless winter?” Usopp who sat next to Zoro’s other side was curious.

“We’re delinquents, we break the law of nature as naturally as we break the law.” Zoro answers in a nonchalant air. Everyone except for Franky and Zoro wore their winter essentials to accompany their school uniforms.

“Heh, that simple, huh?” Usopp looked at Luffy and shook his head. “And that guy over there took it to extremes.”

Luffy who stood on a swing, a straw hat dangling on his back, shouted indistinctly that could be interpreted as “Nami, Look I got all four of them inside my mou-

_BAM_

“Chopper!” Zoro screamed.

Chopper fell on his stomach, face covered with soil, blood dripping off his mouth, someone laid on top of his back. It was Kid, Luffy’s archenemy, the leader of a prestigious private school from the north side of town, Alabasta Academy.

“Hey watch out, you glutton!” Kid shouted as he rubbed his throbbing head.

“Sorry, my friend’s gone mad, she-, he stopped speaking as he saw a familiar green hair approaching Chopper. He looked up as he stood, he detected several hostile auras coming from individuals in front of him, and at the epicenter stood the one with the most hostile intent. It was charging at him with a fist. It was so fast and weird-looking. It gave him no room to gather his mind and defend. He lost his balance and hit the ground.

Luffy’s fist landed hard on Kid’s cheek, a bruise and a tint of blood appeared. The blow didn’t make him pass out but the adrenaline rush made him realize that the weird-looking thing he saw was ice cream cones that Luffy stuffed inside his own mouth. His friends who were also stunned by the circumstances quickly run to pick him up.

Robin, one of Luffy’s gang member looked at Chopper with concern and said, “Zoro, his house is near, let me take him home.” Franky offered to chaperone them.

Chopper was two years younger than the rest of them except for Brook who was in his final year and was not present at the moment. He managed to be in the same grade because he entered a program that enabled him to skip classes. Perks he obtained for being a gifted child. He’s adopted by a prominent but humbled doctor who opened a clinic in town.

“Robin, I think I’ve lost my tooth,” Chopper said to Robin as they left the group. He sobbed quietly. His butterfly chasing moment, possibly his day ended after getting crushed by a bigger butterfly.

***

“You broke the code, this means war!”

“This is a neutral zone and we agreed if both groups were here, no fighting, no one got hurt,” continued Luffy.

Kid who just experienced a full-on humiliation unexpectedly didn’t retaliate. He instead let out a growl, eyes piercing into Bonney, the catalyst of the unexpected face-off. “Look, I didn’t mean to hurt your friend.” He poured out the whole unfortunate experience with extremely run-on details but to summarize, he and Bonney had a row about muffins.

Bonney accused him of taking her shares in which he denied and as they entered the park Bonney manhandled and threw him with her flimsy-looking but boisterous hand and he accidentally landed on top of Chopper. He omitted the part where Bonney manhandled him. He said Bonnie attacked him with her full body.

As Kid explained, someone, with a lollipop inside his mouth, standing a step back beside him, was irritated to the bone but for an entirely different reason. It was Sanji, Kid’s 2nd lieutenant aka his left-hand man, who was in a secret relationship with Luffy’s right-hand man, Zoro who happened to be standing across from him.

 _Ignoring me huh, moss for brain? Look at me, asshole! Is he angry because we broke the code? It was an accident!_ He frustratingly spoke that only his mind could hear. The usual Zoro would’ve mocked him, putting on a face that would get on Sanji’s nerves. Present time Zoro was ignoring him. He looked away stiffly.

Kid finished making his speech. Luffy did not quite grasp what Kid said. All he remembered was muffins-steal-muffins-accident-muffins. However, he believed his main foe’s words and contemplated letting it slide. He just repaid Kid’s blunder on Chopper with a good blow.

Nami, on the other hand, had just read a text from Robin that said Chopper missed a tooth but he would be fine. She referred the text to Luffy.

“Hey Spikey, you lose your tooth?” Luffy asked Kid.

“Huh, no.”

“My guy here lost one, I think you deserve it too.” Luffy cracked his knuckles.

“Luffy! Chopper will be fine, no need dragging this nonsense even further!” Nami shouted, pinching the bridge of her nose, regretting showing the text to Luffy.

Kid gritted his teeth. “Fair enough, don’t go crying if I knock all your teeth back.”

He wouldn’t let Luffy humiliate him again. He might be about to lose a tooth or two but backing down from a fight was never in his vocabulary.

Everybody is _en garde_. They realized this was not a leader on leader combat but an all-out war.

“I heard someone in your group has successfully seduced our member into a romantic venture.” Someone in Kid’s group broke the stifling atmosphere with _elegant_ choice of words. The reveal sure as hell sent emergency alarms to both Zoro’s and Sanji’s brain.

Luffy who already had his fists targeted on Kid straightened up and felt disappointed at the sudden disruption. He blew raspberries and muttered, “Who cares!”

“Eeeeh, if what that guy says is true, while it’s not in our agreements, this still looks bad. We’re sworn enemies, remember? Usopp stated. We don’t fraternize with them, let alone date them!”

That silenced Luffy.

“Hey Basil, is that true? Who told you that?” Kid asked Hawkins, the source of the troubling news.

“They valued secrecy, they didn’t even tell me the names, I should find out myself but I can tell you it’s a good source.” Hawkins did not tell him that they simply are a good source because of their reputation. Despite ripping people off by providing them confidential--mostly illicit information--their findings were accurate and trustworthy. Hawkins had an unfortunate encounter with a notable information broker.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Sorry, Boss, my cards predicted that there’s 90% chance that this better left unsaid until I draw another card.”

“You meant for your own convenience? Your cards are turds!”

Hawkins mumbled, “My cards are undeniable.”

Law, his first lieutenant, who’s arguably more suited to be their boss and didn’t say a word since they first entered the park voiced his opinion, “This sudden reveal fits the situation perfectly, Kid. The two parties involved are here even though not all of us are available. It’s easier to extract information.”

“Is it you? I know you were into that bastard for some time.” Kid without delay brought up Law’s ‘never forgotten and for future’ tease past. There was a time when Law had a crush on Luffy. The ‘time’ here was relative.

“W-what it’s not-“

“-don’t think it’s Tra-guy, and no, I didn’t seduce him,” Luffy said, unbothered. Law’s relieved but his heart was cracked a little upon hearing Luffy’s words.

Luffy glanced at Zoro. Fuck, he managed to give Luffy the slip so many times now but when he jumped him like this through a simple glance, he only went as far as opening up his mouth and froze. Something strangled his throat. Luffy moved his eyes up and down at Zoro for no reason then stopped. 20 years were shaved off of Zoro’s life expectancy.

Luffy’s inspecting eyes panned at Nami. She glared back at him but went total radio silent. He turned to Usopp.

“What? Are you suspecting me? I’ve been dating Kaya since middle school, you’re the first to know!”

“Ah...right, shishishi.” Usopp smacked his head grudgingly.

Luffy’s focus was back on Kid. “Oi, are we gonna fight or start throwing questions about our members’ love lives? Which one will you choose Spikey?!”

“Fight first, investigate later.”

“That’s what I thought.” Luffy clasped his hands and went into a battle mode stance.

Hawkins was shaking his head, Law was slapping a hand on his forehead. Their impromptu and careless negotiation attempt went south and it definitely birthed a much larger predicament. Bonney who’s also not in the mood to put another stain on her face other than her thick makeup jeered, ”Killer’s gonna roast you, shithead Boss.”

“Whose fault do you think this is?!” Kid protested with a snarl. Bonney had her fair share of blameworthiness on this.

“If you didn’t steal my muffins, this would not have happened!”

Spoiler alert, Killer is Kid’s thug life _spouse_.

Up until that moment, Sanji would not have come to know that he loved fighting so much. He lunged his long leg up front aiming to strike Zoro’s abdomen. Zoro would usually block him with his wooden sword or his forearm. This time he didn’t bring any weaponry and allowed Sanji’s shoe-coated foot to strike him on his upper stomach unchallenged. He whizzed and went down. Bewilderment was shown on Sanji’s face. 

Zoro got on his feet, poised. With that Sanji motioned his leg in a similar fashion as he did before. Zoro stopped it from hitting him; He grabbed Sanji’s ankle, tightening it, then looked at him. Sanji gasped, Zoro finally locked his eyes on him. It’s not glare or a dare. It’s a lazy stare. Zoro loosened his grip and pushed Sanji’s leg with a half-baked force. Sanji staggered backwards.

Robin and Franky arrived and replaced Nami and Usopp who successively had tried to hide behind each other’s back. They were targeted by Bonney and Law. The coward duo immediately took flight, seeking salvation behind bushes.

Hawkins tried to help Law but Law dismissed him.

Despite Franky’s obvious advantages on his body builder-like appearance and the rumors of him being a half robot, Law could withstand Franky’s swing with his hand. Law decided to deliver an uppercut but Franky jerked his head backwards in time, avoiding a broken chin if it successfully landed. Law still had a card up his sleeve. He bent his knee, motioning his left leg sideways and thrusted it on Franky’s left abdomen in a rapid charge. Franky hissed in pain and retreated.

Robin and Bonney had cuts on their lips. Both grabbed on each other's hands simultaneously, yanked them down, and twisted the hands of one another in a merciless spirit. They had trouble resisting themselves from screaming off the agonizing sensation across their arms. Alternately, Bonney spat saliva on Robin’s face. Robin reciprocated the attitude.

Luffy and Kid positioned each other in a distance and fought like a bunch of 5-year-olds by throwing everything that was within their reach towards their opponent. The cowardice duo who watched the embarrassing scene chimed in with their two cents. “When will they ever get serious and they dare calling themselves leaders?” said Nami.

“But look Nami, they both succeeded in inflicting wounds on each other, commented Usopp.

“See that fresh cut on Kid’s other cheek, that’s Luffy’s on point energy drink can marking.” And--oh wow Kid just hit Luffy’s chin with pebbles. Luffy’s mad, oh, it’s pebbles throwing contest now.”

The leaders, at last, turned their battle mindset gears on. Stomping their feet sideways, nostrils flaring, they charged forward in each other’s direction. As they were about to collide, they took a leap and yelled, “Aaahh!!” while raising their fists. Instead of KO’d delivery, they felt something stung their eyes. The childish bosses, in reality, thrust a lump of sands on each other’s faces. Nami and Usopp facepalmed.

“Nami, permission to launch torpedo over them?”

“Permission granted,” Nami played along.

Back to Franky and Law altercation. Franky came for Law’s personal space, stomping on his shoe, gifting Law an opening to ram on his side. Franky took it, while he was trapping Law’s right shoe, he pounded his strong skull on Law’s chest. Law fell on his bottom unceremoniously. Voices of kids around 7 years of age were heard cheering on Franky on the sidelines as Franky did his signature ‘SUUPEEERR’ pose.

“See that, Nami! They know us!” Usopp boasted, proud.

“Ask them if they know you.”

“Hey kids, do you know me, right?”

The kids glanced at each other, confused but one of them seemed to put two and two together and yelled, “Ah, you’re Mr. Long Nose the Wet Pants, hahaha.”

Usopp was not pleased.

Luffy and Kid’s fight was finally involving physical contact. They tugged at each other’s collar furiously and headbutted each other’s forehead along the way.

After a couple of dodges and weak blows on Zoro’s side, Zoro found Hawkins calmly sitting alone, fiddling with his phone without a care in the world. He ditched Sanji to approach him.

Sanji was at his limit, he spat the lollipop stick out of his mouth. “Hey coward, your opponent is me!”

Zoro plugged his ears with his stubbornness.

When Sanji tried to get to him, Usopp’s loud voice intercepted, “Police..Police..ruuunnn!” Usopp and Nami heard a police siren coming in their direction.

They disappeared from the scene of a crime like pros. Kids who watched them also dispersed without a trace. While there’s a panic they had gotten so used to this, they instinctively made a beeline towards their respective head of the group.

“Luffy, let’s go through there,” Zoro suggested, pointing at an alley across the park. Luffy’s group was silently making their way into their exit. Zoro the idea proposer walked in an opposite direction. Nami pinned his back collar and whispered rashly as she dragged him, “Idiot, over here!”

“Why are you whispering?” asked Zoro, confused.

Usopp grew pale, letting out a low shriek at the sight in front of him. His escape track was derailed by a wire mesh fence guarding the alleyway. Luffy rattled the fence as if trying to tear it apart. He could climb it over but if the whole gang tried to climb together with the ruckus they’d make, the police would easily spot them. Going back now was a no go, sirene was still blaring, They had no choice, they had to make do with what’s left. Making a quick acquaintance with piles of garbage and big trashcans in the area that could help them thinly mask their scent was one.

The blaring wail of the siren grew louder and louder in their vicinity, then ceased. Their ears caught the sound of a vehicle door slamming, followed by the thumping sounds of bootsteps that were slowly approaching them. Their hearts were hammering fast. Two of them were unhealthily beating much faster.

“Boo!”

“GAAHH”. A light-tanned guy with freckles donning firefighter trousers and a black t-shirt had spooked the life out of Nami and Usopp who vocalized damning voices that were familiarly found in a haunted attraction. The rest of them had their own surprise looks as well but without the _gaahh._

“Ace?” Luffy beamed up. “What are you doing here?” He asked his older brother.

“Was just passing by,” answered Ace as he crouched down, leveling with the group.

“Hey everyone.” His eyes were skimming on them. “Wow, rough day?” He noticed banged up features from some of them.

He did a double-take on Zoro, “Dude, what’s with you? You look--sad.” His straightforwardness rivaled Luffy’s.

Zoro felt like a deer in the headlights. He couldn’t believe his best friend’s brother whom he didn’t hang out with so often would be the cause of his deepest secret being revealed and eventually his untimely demise. He managed to reply calmly, “I’m hungry.”

“Hm, not the response I expected but-” Ace shrugged. He didn’t buy Zoro’s answer but didn’t press further.

“Ace, we sensed police vehicle coming our way, did you see them?” Usopp asked.

“Nope,” He answered without catching a breath.

Ace got up, stepping away from them but then returned after a minute with a fire hose in his hand. He moved a couple of steps back from his initial position. He turned the nozzle on, freeing the water, and sprung it on Luffy and Company who were still in a crouching position. They all jolted up from the water pressure like sleeping horses being whipped.

“That siren, was that you?” Robin caught on while actively fighting for her life.

“Yes, suckers!!” He answered, maniacal expression shown. He swung the handle erratically as if aiming at a raging fire.

Nami attempted to run away but to no avail because the projecting water could still reach her smugly and the other side was a dead-end.

“Ace stop it! we get it, we’re sorry, we’re so sorry,” She begged him for forgiveness for no reason. The prickling high pressure of the spray could make a human repent and draw closer to God. Luffy unsurprisingly laughed it off. Usopp accepted his fate. Franky treated this barbaric treatment as a back therapy as he covered Robin. Zoro who had been enigmatic and acting asshole-y according to Sanji was feeling numb. He needed to be somewhere. He needed to be _there_.

“Ace, stop fooling around, we need to get back!” His friend behind the driving wheel screamed out.

Ace switched the nozzle off. “Feeling reborn yet?” He asked sans remorse.

“We’re so reborn we don’t even know who we are anymore,” said Usopp fatiguedly as he blew his nose.

“It’s not so bad, it didn’t hit you with the regular pressure. If it did you’ll die.”

“Thank you very much for sparing our lives, Ace,” Nami said sarcastically as she coughed up in a dramatic manner. All of them were freezing ice-cold.

“Alright, see you later. Don’t cause a scene,” said someone who just deliberately made a scene. Ace advanced towards his vehicle.

“Ace, wait, I’m coming with you,” Luffy said. “Drop me on the street near the house.”

As Luffy trailed, he saw Kid and his group emerged from an alleyway two buildings next to his.

Thunder roared as they locked eyes. Both clicked their tongue at the same time, showcasing their disgusted look at one another. Luffy hopped on the fire engine, already acclimating to the space.

“Luffy, I’m tagging along,” said Zoro.

Upon hearing this, Sanji who stood idly with his friends turned his face to the source of the voice. He rapidly looked away as soon as Zoro caught him looking. Sanji could not fathom the action he just did. He asked himself why he on the spur of the moment sought out that voice. Wasn’t he mad at him? also wondered why he turned away quickly, Was it an embarrassment? or the daredevil in him decided to step up and gave himself away to his peers who would sniff out even the slightest suspicious movement of his?

On one hand, Zoro frowned at Sanji’s behavior. He also couldn’t help but crave Sanji would have at least _seen_ him or might have even secretly cracked a smile at him, those wishful thinking.

“Sorry Zo, no more seats. You’re welcome sitting on the roof, also there’s a water tank that you can submerge into.” Ace told Zoro with an unapologetic face.

“No, thank you, last time I check I’m not a fish,” Zoro stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

“See ya on Sunday, guys,” said Luffy as he waved goodbye. His friends raised their hands and sent him away with smiles.

The vehicle drove off slowly, revealing Kid’s group who just crossed the street. The fire engine horn was honked in specific tunes. Tunes that both groups were aware of and had heard of two years ago. It sparked different reactions from the opposite groups. Chuckles, smiles, disbelief, and pure nostalgic feelings appeared.

The sound blasted through the road thanks to Luffy wearing a shit-eating grin on his face. Kid had a reluctant smirk as he heard it that ascended into a smile afterwards. Both groups continued walking in opposite directions as the cold wind grazed their figures. The east wind and the north wind exited the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some of these characters never interact with each other in canonverse. hope i do them justice.. some oocness is inevitable *sweats profusely*


	2. The Calm Part 1

The rain was pattering indiscriminately in the town of Averno and somewhere in town, its tears effortlessly fell on the asphalt road and cars that bustled about in front of a high-end serviced apartment complex named The Globe. A lady who darted a look at the apartment entrance walked in hurried steps, grappling through the rain with her umbrella. The lady attempted to skip a moderately big puddle instead of walking around it, she succeeded, and a triumphant smile unfurled. She made a pit stop in front of the entrance to shake the raindrops off her umbrella and tapped her boots on the doormat.

The sky abruptly went from high-frequency precipitation to a sprinkle in a matter of second. She witnessed the change and was not amused. The doorman who caught her bring her hands up in dismay chuckled, he opened the door for the lady. A front desk staff greeted the lady who approached him, “Ms. Wynn, You’re here for Mr. Roronoa?”

“Yes,” answered the lady. “Excuse me for a moment.” The staff was seen punching numbers into a phone in front him. He was talking politely with the receiver on the other end and hung up. “Here’s the car key, you can wait for Mr. Roronoa at the usual place.”

***

“Zoro your driver’s here,” Perona, Zoro’s older sister, the one who talked with the staff delivered him the news.

“What? No need. I’ll go by taxi,” said Zoro who was prepping himself up for a night out.

“You still wanna go out? It’s a massive downpour out there,” Mihawk, Zoro’s adoptive father, said while sitting in front of an electric fireplace. He adopted Zoro and Perona when they were about 7 and 10 years old.

Perona looked out the window, “Nope, It’s just a drizzle now, Dad.” “He’s about to meet his Juliet. Higher power must have used up all this shitty brother’s luck tonight. It’s only a matter of time before his friends find out and kick him out of the group.” Perona knew about his forbidden relationship with Sanji. And of course, she told Mihawk.

“Fuck you!” cussed Zoro.

Perona stuck her tongue out. She dashed to her room. A minute later, she came back, prancing about. One of her hand eased on the back while holding something.

“Wear this.” She stopped in front of Zoro and shoved a yellow raincoat on him.

Zoro frowned. “I’ve already had this hoodie you know--Isn’t this too bright?”

“I’m testing out a theory.” Perona shuffled to sit on the sofa.

“What theory?”

“Anyway, it’s perfect on you,” uttered Perona who easily brushed off Zoro’s question. Despite his complaint, Zoro wore it on top of his ivory-colored winter hoodie, a silhouette of a man wielding three swords imprinted on the front of the outfit. Dark brown pants were worn to complement it.

“I-uh am coming back in the morning,” He said to Mihawk while being slightly embarrassed.

“Okay,” Mihawk responded.

“Oooh, somebody’s on for a wild night,” Perona brazenly spewed. There’s no such a thing as boundaries in this household.

“Shut up! It’s not what you think.” Zoro shifted his eyes at her, arms crossed, “What about you, shouldn’t you be at your girlfr-,“ Perona grabbed a cushion near her and catapulted it to shut his mouth before he finished the sentence. Mihawk snorted under his glass of wine. Perona heard him.

“Shut up, you shitty dad!” She railed on him as she blushed.

“I’m going,” Zoro informed as he trotted in the hallway.

“Beware of clowns!” Perona shouted as the door shut.

“Girl, follow him, he’s going to get lost on the way down.”

***

Ms. Wynn was an easygoing but also a reserved lady. Her tendency to elude herself from a long-winded talk was what made Zoro didn’t obstinately refuse whenever Perona insisted he should go with a private car. She and Zoro would still exchange few pleasantries such as talking about the weather and stock market. The last instance never happened, truth to be told. She also would remind Zoro that his cellphone fell off of his pocket just like tonight. It didn’t fall off. Zoro fell asleep while holding it. It slid off his grip. She knew, she just didn’t want to expose Zoro’s ‘napping at any time and anywhere’ habit or his habit of forgetting something as important as a cellphone. As it turned out, Ms. Wynn was also an attentive and thoughtful lady.

She dropped him on the street directly at the back of Sanji’s house because once a taxi driver dropped him slightly far from the destination per Zoro’s request who’s told by Sanji for precaution, Perona had had to search for him in the woods, almost calling Search and Rescue team for it.

Sanji’s home was located in a fairly affluent residential area. It’s a nice two-story estate cladded with natural stone veneer at the foot of the house, pristine white and gray-colored exterior wall over the rest of the building surface with several arched windows confined into it. The garden was graced with wild plants and vines crawling through the wall and onto the fence, clusters of flowers rooted in the ground and pots, comfortable spaces for vegetables and herbs to grow. It was Sanji’s favorite place. Sanji’s room had a balcony with a view of an empty plot of land across his house.

Sneaking at the back of the house and using a ladder to climb up the balcony had become a sacred pilgrimage to Zoro. It’s the cost of being overly chummy with a sworn enemy.

It was once again raining cats and dogs when he opened an unlocked iron door between the brick fence. He traced on a wet clobbered lane, water-logged lawns on the sides. He turned up at the door and opened it. A figure with a braided mustache greeted him, “Trying a new route?”

“Ah, Zoro scanned his surroundings, “Sorry, wrong door.” He trod on in reverse and retraced the lane. That clobberstone path he took, in fact, had another path. Zoro just picked the wrong one. That’s all. It’s not because he forgot there was a ladder to climb up first. He took the other path this time and that brought him to a ladder that was waiting for him.

The rain crudely caressed his face as he climbed. He then stepped on the balcony and was welcomed by a closed-off balcony door covered by long drapes inside. The room looked vacant if not for a lit-up light. He pulled up the ladder and laid it diagonally on the balcony’s railing.

He knocked, “Cook, it’s me, open up!” No answers. He knocked again.

“What do you want? Go away!” Sanji’s voice traveled amidst the rain. Leftover fury from the afternoon detected.

“It’s practically an ice age here, let me in.”

“Good, neanderthal like you will just fit right in.”

“Hey, I think--I think someone from your school sees me.”

“What?!” Sanji rose from his bed at once, he unlocked and opened the door with an unlit cigarette between his lips. He was dressed in a blue sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. He looked around as if he’s a guard who observed his surroundings from a watchtower. There’s no one in sight, only Mr. Torrential Rain.

Zoro took off his shoes and weaseled his way inside.

“You bastard.” Sanji blew a fuse. Zoro’s back got impaled by a magazine that Sanji hurled on him. Zoro didn’t make a fuss, his eyes were aiming for the bed.

“Oi oi, you’re dripping water everywhere, hang your coat first!” Sanji commanded. Zoro took it off and threw it on the carpet. “Are you deaf?!” Sanji couldn’t believe the audacity he just beheld. He picked it up and peered at a small paper inside a see-through pocket attached inside the coat. It says,

**I’m Roronoa Zoro. If I’m lost, please return me to The Globe, 103 Balthasar St.**

Sanji erupted in laughter. He almost dropped the cigarette off his mouth, but his hand quickly caught it. “Did Perona write this?” Sanji asked.

Zoro lied face down on Sanji’s bed. He tuned out what Sanji asked him. He then watched Sanji with a darkened expression.

Sanji stared back at Zoro, puzzled. “What happened? No no, I’m supposed to be mad at you.” “Why did you ignore me today?”

Zoro was idle for a moment then said, “I had a really bad dream--about you.” Zoro’s face plunged into Sanji’s pillow.

“Huh?” Sanji hooked Zoro’s coat on the rack after wringing it slightly outside. 

Zoro planted his head sideways, opposite of Sanji’s point of view. “The sun was chasing after you. It’s not blinding. I could see it clearly. It had facial features, no eyebrows, eyes were blazing red, fangs sticking out of its mouth. It was-- trying to eat you. It just floated and you kept on running. And at one time its sharp teeth would change into the edges of a saw blade clacking non-stop. I couldn’t move to save you. You saw me-- but you didn’t cry for help.” Frustration came ashore as he said it.

“All you did was run and run. You would end up getting caught. You didn’t bleed or anything. Once you’re caught, you just disappeared.” Zoro rubbed his forehead to relieve tension lumping around it.

I didn’t get swayed by nightmares. But that one, in particular, I dreamed about it when I took naps too. That’s why I-”

Zoro halted, he felt a weight all over his back. Sanji’s whole body collapsed in line on top of Zoro’s.

“I’m here,” Sanji whispered over the base of Zoro’s neck. Sanji put his hand next to Zoro’s eyesight, palm facing up.

“Take my hand,” Sanji urged. Zoro brought his hand up and rested his palm on Sanji’s, lacing their fingers together.

“See, you’ve saved me now.”

Sanji’s words calmed him. The dread that was welling up inside him retreated slowly.

Sanji took a sniff of Zoro’s hair, it smelled minty and coconutty, and he chuckled. He thought someone had showered this time. He shifted to lie prone beside Zoro. He smiled at Zoro and Zoro returned it.

Sanji sprung his body sideways to face Zoro, cheek leaning on a folded hand. “Here I thought your dream would normally comprise moss balls bouncing around in an empty space.” Sanji teased as he punctured Zoro’s back thigh with his toes lightheartedly.

Zoro stretched Sanji’s tender cheek hard. Sanji pulled Zoro’s sideburns in return.

“Get up. Let’s play a game,” said Sanji as he sat, legs crossed.

Zoro furrowed his brows but he got up and mirrored Sanji’s seating position.

“Close your eyes, and take a deep breath.”

“What is this, don’t tell me--something kinky?” Zoro gasped as he crossed his arms over his chest as if he was going to get attacked.

Sanji kicked his belly. “Moron,” He said as his face heated up. “Get serious!” continued Sanji who just proposed a _game_ to Zoro.

Zoro closed his eyes after almost thrown out of bed because of Sanji’s kick.

“Picture me in your mind, just me.”

“Okay,” Zoro followed suit. “Pfft,” He snorted.

“What’s wrong?”

“Duval just made a brief cameo.” Duval went to the same school as Zoro. He once showed his photo to Sanji and told him teasingly that they resembled each other. Sanji deemed it as a defamation of character. Zoro should’ve gone to jail for saying such an abomination.

Sanji honked Zoro’s nose. “Concentrate!” Sanji imposed. “Now, put me in your most favorite place in the world.” He gave Zoro the time to think of the place then asked, “Where am I?” 

“At dojo.”

“Okay, good.” Sanji secretly wished it was his bedroom.

“Is there--a second favorite?” Sanji was fishing for Zoro to mention _that_.

“I don’t know, I can’t think of one now.” Sanji blew strands of hair as a sign of disappointment.

“Ah,” Zoro said. Sanji held his breath. “Dad’s wine room,” continued Zoro. Sanji rolled his eyes.

“Ok, now picture me standing there.” What would you like me to do there?”

“Pour me a glass of wine. I’d prefer stronger stuff to be honest.”

“No, just wine,” Sanji said in a curt fashion. That’s what Zoro got for casting him as a butler in his motion picture with no release date.

“Now think of something that will make me comfortable there, to be in your wine room, a place that I never went to in my life.”

Zoro silenced for a moment then said, “Your dad, I see you talking with your dad. You are arguing but you look happy.” Sanji smiled at Zoro’s revelation. It warmed his heart.

“Now open your eyes.”

Zoro cracked his eyes open. He gazed at Sanji whom he deemed nice to look at, no, beautiful to look at was being more beautiful and radiant. Those blue eyes that would render him speechless some other times were gazing at him in full color.

“From now on you shitty moss, if you have a bad dream about me again, you can picture what you’ve seen just now, Get that? I thought it might distract you from thinking about the ugly one.”

Sanji could not help but wonder whether this dream of Zoro had anything to do with the incident at the park that led to their relationship halfway being revealed. It was like some kind of warning. But he’s no dream expert, it might have been just another unfortunate dream.

Zoro nodded and said thank you as he grabbed Sanji’s hand, putting its palm onto his. Zoro felt tension being relieved from his body. He’s convinced that the fruit of Sanji’s whatchamacallit session would work. As he held Sanji’s hand in one hand, his index and middle fingers from the other mischievously strolled over Sanji’s hand like two legs taking a walk in the park, down his lower arm and reversed. Not long after that, he lifted two of Sanji’s fingers up and down as if they were dancing.

Sanji stared at him while Zoro was focusing on his little fingers dance. He zeroed in on his long eyelashes, on his lips.. 

“Eggplant, is your Romeo still serenading?” Sanji snapped out of his trance and blinked. “Get him the cake that I brought from the restaurant,” Zeff yelled from downstairs.

“Ah right, Zoro, Cake?” He shook Zoro’s hand.

“Err-” Zoro freed his hand from Sanji then shrugged. He didn’t like sweet stuff but wouldn’t refrain from eating them.

“It’s a rum cake,” Sanji lured as he rose from the bed. Zoro’s eyes glinted, his mouth formed a delightful O shape.

“Bring it.”

“Just one slice though, you’re barely a teenager,” Sanji said, deliberately calling for Zoro’s irritation.

“Screw you! You’ll give up on the first bite, I on the other hand can eat the whole plate.”

“Show off!”

Sanji came back and brought four slices of rum cake. One for him, three for Zoro.

“Hey, about another elephant in the room,” said Sanji as he ate the cake.

“Hmm?” Zoro munched vigorously.

“What should we do about that?”

“No idea, Zoro said as he gulped down the cake, catching what Sanji meant. “If they ever interrogate us which in fact they will, I think we should--

-LIE,” They blurted out the word in sync. Thunder rumbled in the distance as they said it.

After filling and warming their stomach, both slumped their shoulders, leaning on the headboard of Sanji’s bed. Sanji became slightly lightheaded. Just slightly. Zoro must have not known about it. If Zoro took notice, he would be having a field day. Sanji scratched the back of his head to conceal it. They looked out the window and it just dawned on them that the rain had subsided.

Zoro felt his nose tickle, he sneezed. Sanji reached for a tissue box and gave it to Zoro. He put his palm on Zoro’s forehead to check on his temperature. It’s a little warm.

“You need some medication for that?”

“No, it‘s fine, this is nothing.” Zoro’s mind flew back to the event that took place in an alley this afternoon. A certain older brother of a friend might have been the damn cause.

“Come to think of it, we had some really close calls this afternoon,” Sanji recounted. You especially. You could’ve said something to me, instead of giving me the cold shoulder.” His hindfoot slightly pounded on Zoro’s shin. “The worst part was, going after Hawkins? What the fuck was that?”

“Why don’t you just tell him that you’re dating me, saving us all the trouble.“You can be overdramatic sometimes,” Sanji preached.

“Like you’re one to talk. You shouted at me and spun your head so fast like it would snap off of your body when I caught you looking at me. What was that all about? You can be really weird sometimes.” Zoro shot the bullets of accusations back.

Sanji felt like he was held at gunpoint. “I..uh- _you kinda looked hot when you’re drenched._ This was the third postulation that Sanji had come up with. It had crossed his mind when he got home. One of the reasons he was flustered. However, there’s no way he would say that. He instead said, ”My pride got the best of me?”

“Huh? What’s that even mean?” Zoro was perplexed.

Sanji reached for the unlit cigarette that he put between his mouth before and lighted it.

“Hey, are we dating?” Zoro asked. The only thing that he remembered from Sanji’s barrage of rants.

“Who knows,” Sanji gave him a nonanswer. He exhaled the smoke upwards, gazing at the trail as it disbanded.

“Fraternizing then,” Zoro said as he looked at Sanji. Both chuckled. Sanji reached for his laptop, planning to watch random series on the fly. They often played console games in the little corner of Sanji’s room. Sometimes, sat on a sofa, watching TV or just lied on the carpet, staring at the ceiling. One or two nights when the sky was clear, they would go out on the balcony, stargazing.

“Cook-” Zoro scraped his non-itchy cheek. “Will you be okay if we hang out like once every two weeks or once a month? It’s just-- the chance of us getting caught will be lower.”

Zoro intended to get a reaction out of Sanji for a recreational purpose but at the same time took it into consideration.

“If that’s what you want.”

“No I asked you, will you be okay with that?”

“Che!” Sanji clicked his tongue aloud, closing his laptop, stubbing out the cigarette on the ashtray by the nightstand, and lied on his side, ignoring Zoro’s whole existence.

Zoro imitated Sanji’s lying position, going closer, and left a small gap between them. He spoke in a low voice, “Hey, If you don’t want me to do it, just tell me.”

He touched Sanji’s upper arm, rubbed it with care using his thumb. “This ‘catch us if you can’ game we’re in is pretty damn thrilling, isn’t it?”

In other words, he liked being with Sanji. His ego just wouldn’t allow him to proclaim it.

“So, don’t..” Sanji said in a dejected voice.

“Don’t what?”

“Given the uncertainty of--whatever this is we have, why don’t we just, I don’t know, fight through, seize the moment and leave the rest to fate.” A little dwarf resided inside his mind cabin was unsure whether this boldness originated from the ‘wanting to get caught’ impulses or he had gone off the deep end about his feelings towards the rare type of grass. The last one made the little dwarf gag.

“Ah, _carpe momentum_ ,” Zoro went Latin all of a sudden.

“Wow, you know that phrase?”

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out those words, you stupid cook.”

Well, in reality, Zoro had heard this from Usopp who one day muttering the words to his ‘followers’ as a battle cry. The followers were none other than Kaya and two little kids from Luffy’s neighborhood. Zoro had no idea if the kids were still Usopp’s loyal fanatics or had been turned by Usopp’s ‘enemies’. He rarely saw them these days.

“You really like having me around, huh?” He pumped Sanji’s biceps playfully and smirked.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Sanji’s blush went unnoticed.

“Are we going to sleep or watch some shows?” Zoro sat up and opened Sanji’s laptop. “Oh, I haven’t seen this,” He said as he scrolled past a streaming site. “Cook, come on!” He nudged Sanji.

“You’ve ruined the mood,” Sanji said as he sat up and positioned himself to watch despite his claim about Zoro bursting his mood bubble.

They were extremely absorbed in a comedy series they were currently watching. A blob of tear came out on the corner of Sanji’s eyes. He was cracking at the scene of a group of fools trying to push through a rainstorm with their umbrellas.

Without a warning, cold air engulfed Zoro’s body. “Cook, is your heater broken?” He asked.

“No.” Sanji’s eyes glued on the monitor.

Zoro went to the balcony door to check if the lock was loose. It was shut tight. He shuffled to close the window curtain. As he closed it, voices lingered on the horizon;

[It’s a promise, Zoro]

[I promise] 

Zoro stood in a stupor, he was as though being slapped by a familiar ghost that came from a far off but immediate dimension, a distant memory of his that came to haunt him, threaten him?

“Oi, Mosshead, what’s up?”

Sanji’s voice slapped him back to reality and he said, “Nothing.”

He turned back and was immediately assaulted by cheese puffs that Sanji threw three consecutive times on cue at him. He caught all of them with his mouth. They high-fived, celebrating their meager childish game. He reoccupied his initial seat, wearing his hood on. Sanji who was ever so kind wrapped a blanket around Zoro’s back. Zoro took the initiative to share the blanket with him.

He pushed the memory to the rear of his consciousness. He could only do it temporarily. Right now, he just wanted to plant a kiss on Sanji’s temple. And he did it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 3 would still be taking place in Sanji's house lol. i've written it but there are some parts that needed to be tweaked (more like i still cant come up with kid's gang name lmao) 
> 
> thank you for reading :))


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